Getting street smart

They take credit and debit cards and will even send you text messages when they need more money.

And no, they are not your children, they actually are talking parking meters. New, fancy, high-tech ones. Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

About 6,000 of the electronic meters are poised to soon stand guard on Los Angeles streets under a pilot program launched Thursday at a North Hollywood public parking lot.

Costing $5.5 million, the new machines are being installed to help recover money lost from broken meters - estimated at $1.6 million over the past two years.